Capturing the Verve: Prints and Bronzes by Robert Cook

The Old Print Gallery is pleased to present Capturing the Verve: Prints and Bronzes by Robert Cook, which opens on May 18, and runs until July 14, 2012. This is the first show at the gallery to involve sculpture as well as prints- which makes this an exciting endeavor for us! Works in this one-man show span over 30 years of the artist’s drive to interpret motion. With a secure grasp of the human and animal form, Cook, using the lost-wax process, transforms his subjects into pure and potent representations of their own energy and power. A leg kicked to the sky, a figure stretched out to its limits, forms tumbling, running, dancing- the energy from his bronzes is both palpable and contagious. His work divulges a remarkable sense of tension and strength, all ­revealed in the interplay between layers of stretched bronze and open spaces. Cook understands, and celebrates, not just a movement, but the humanistic urges and intentions that fuel a movement.

Similarly, Cooks prints are two dimensional rhythmic abstractions- chaotic, yet uncluttered, expressions of the figure and the space around it. Working in black and white, he offers a spirited and purified depiction of the energy and emotion contained in a movement. Many of his prints have three-dimensional counterparts, using prints as his study for sculpture, and vice-versa. Cook’s prints and bronzes an undeniable indication of a lifelong, intense and dedicated study of motion and the natural form across all mediums.

Robert Cook was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1921, and first studied under George Demetrios. After serving with the U.S. Engineers in World War II, Cook stayed in Paris to study with Marcel Gaumon at l’Academie des Beaux Arts. In 1948, Cook moved to Rome and worked out of his Via Margutta studio. He later moved to Canale-Monterans, where he built a large studio set amongst the Italian countryside. Cook has had one man museum shows in Boston, New York City, Richmond, Tuscon, Charlotte and internationally in Rome. Jasillo Press published a four-book series of his work and commissions, and a documentary film “The World of Robert Cook” was produced by New York and London-based Beachtree Productions.

Capturing the Verve will open on Friday, May 18th with a nighttime reception from 5-8pm at the gallery. The party is free and open to the public ( all ages welcome). We will be serving wine, beverages, and light snacks. Those in attendance will get a first look at Cook’s sculptures and a chance to discuss the artist’s life and work in full detail with other art lovers and gallery staff. We hope to see you there!

To see or purchase the prints and bronzes included in the show, make sure to visit website.